


Deceptive Damsel

by TheFunk



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Cats, First Meetings, Knight Seungcheol, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pets, Prince Jeonghan, Prince Junhui, Princes & Princesses, Slow To Update, Turtles, dragon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24101329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFunk/pseuds/TheFunk
Summary: In which Seungcheol’s quest to rescue a Prince is a little more difficult than anticipated, and not because of the dragon.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Wen Jun Hui | Jun
Comments: 16
Kudos: 38
Collections: Seventeen Rare Pair Fest: Round 1





	Deceptive Damsel

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SVTRarePairFest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SVTRarePairFest) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Rumor has it that a prince has been locked away in a tower, and Seungcheol decides to go on a quest to rescue them. Turns out Junhui is not actually locked in the tower; he's content to spend most of his day inside and is very confused about why this man has come into his home to "save" him. 
> 
> He seems nice though.

Seungcheol’s body was humming. Being summoned to the royal chambers was always nerve-wracking. There was never any indication of why you were being called in. He could be being praised for helping save that young lady of a neighboring village, or he could be being punished for stealing a pie from the kitchens. It was a strawberry pie they couldn’t blame him for that. Mingyu made the best pies in the kingdom, and they were rarely treated to strawberry pies, of course he was going to take one. And he’d shared it with the oldest Prince even, if Seungcheol got punished, then Prince Jeonghan should too.

He stepped into the throne room and his breath caught in his throat. No matter how many times he had been in the throne room, he never got used to it. A high vaulted ceiling covered a long cavernous room. Large stained-glass windows covered the side walls and turned the sunlight in the room rainbow. Two large thrones sat in the center, a slightly smaller throne to the side of each one. He could still picture Prince Jeonghan's lazy sprawl the week before as they ate strawberry pie. Today though, only the King sat on his throne, large and imposing, his golden crown almost blinding in the light. Seungcheol hurried forward and bowed before the man's feet.

"You called for me, my King?" Seungcheol asked.

"Stand Seungcheol," the King said, “it is time for you to prove yourself.”

Seungcheol stood with his hands behind his back. "My King?"

"If you're going to be the new head of Prince Sanha's royal guard, I need you to complete one last quest."

A spark shot through Seungcheol's body. The last quest he'd gone on had left him with a large scar across his chest that ached when it rained. He ached to reach up and rub at his chest, but he forced himself to keep his hand down. He nodded.

"As you wish my King," he said.

"Good. There is a prince trapped in a tower in the countryside. It is said a dragon guards him. Your quest is to save the prince and return him home safely. Can you do it?" the King asked.

"Of course, my King."

"Good. You leave tomorrow morning. You may go."

Seungcheol bowed at the King and left the throne room. Once outside, Seungcheol pressed his back against a stone wall. He let out a shaky breath. He was going to have to fight a dragon. He wanted to be the guard for the youngest prince, but a dragon? He rubbed at his chest and headed to his quarters.

#

Seungcheol awoke to the sharp chill of a wind rushing through window. He groaned and rolled over, pulling his blanket over his head. He only stayed like that for about three minutes before a hand was shaking him. He groaned and peeked out from his covers.

“Hyung, you need to get up." Hansol said.

Seungcheol pouted but he knew the younger guard was right. He pushed the covers off of himself and then stood and stretched. He moaned as his bones and muscles popped and relaxed.

“Are you excited, hyung?” Hansol asked.

"I guess. Help me get dressed, would you?"

Hansol nodded and helped Seungcheol get dressed. He could do it alone, but he liked when someone was there to help him strap on his armor. He slid his sword into his sheath and rolled his shoulders.

"Thanks, Hansol," Seungcheol said.

Hansol patted him on the shoulder. "You're going to do great, hyung."

Seungcheol smiled at him and then went to the main hall. The main hall was almost as cavernous as the throne room, and his footsteps echoed with every step. It sent a shiver through his spine with each one. He warmed up though when he spotted Mingyu standing in the entryway. Mingyu held up a satchel when Seungcheol reached him.

"This should last you for a while, hyung," Mingyu said.

Seungcheol grabbed the bag from him, slung it across his shoulder and opened it to peek inside. The satchel was filled with food of all different kinds. There was even a small pot in the bag.

"I wasn't sure how long you would be gone for, so I wanted to over prepare. Do you think that's enough?" Mingyu asked.

Seungcheol smiled, "I think it should be good Mingyu, thank you.”

Mingyu grinned and fixed his clothing Seungcheol fastened the satchel back together. There was

a loud bang from the side of the main hall. Seungcheol and Mingyu bowed as the two Princes entered the main hall. Prince Jeonghan was striking as always, gliding as he walked. Prince Sanha, the youngest Prince bounced alongside his older brother, hands wrapped around his arm.

"Yah, Seungcheollie, I heard you're going on a quest," Prince Jeonghan said, wily smile on his face, like always.

"Yes, my Prince," Seungcheol said.

Prince Sanha let go of Prince Jeonghan and glued himself to Seungcheol's side, "Seungcheol hyung, you're going to be careful right? You'll stay safe?"

Seungcheol's heart warmed. Young Sanha, only seventeen years old, had always had a kind heart. He had cried over his bedside for days when Seungcheol had comeback from his last quest.

“Of course, I'll be careful. I have to come back to guard you. Who else is going to? Mingyu? I don’t think so." Seungcheol chuckled and ignored the offended sound that came from the castle chef.

Prince Sanha grinned, "Right! Hyung is the best!"

Seungcheol smiled and pinched Prince Sanha's cheek. The young Prince giggled and blushed. If it had been anyone else, they would have been killed for such an offense. However, it was known throughout the castle that Knight Seungcheol was to be the Head of the Royal Guard for Prince Sanha. Seungcheol and Prince Sanha, due to always being together, had a special bond. Prince Sanha was the little brother that Seungcheol never had, and Prince Sanha thrived off of the attention and affection.

"Good luck, Cheollie hyung," Sanha said.

"Thank you, Sanha. Thank you, Prince Jeonghan," Seungcheol said.

He patted Prince Sanha on the shoulder and Prince Sanha let go of his arm, latching back onto Prince Jeonghan. He bowed at the Prince's and hiked his satchel higher on his shoulder.

"Thank you again. I'll be back before you know it."

He smiled at them and then left the main hall, headed to the stables.

#

The walk to the stables took him only a few minutes, though usually it took him longer. He was walking faster than usual, feet carrying him down the cobblestone path faster than his usual pace. The sun was shining on him and sweat began to dot along his brow. He blew air up towards his forehead, but it only hit the bottom of his nose. He could hear a horse whinny and he smiled when he reached the stable.

“Seokminnie, is my girl ready for me?” Seungcheol called.

A tall boy with a bright smile ran out from the stables, “Hyung!”

Seungcheol held his arms out, and the younger boy latched onto Seungcheol’s arm. Seungcheol allowed Seokmin to lead him into the stables. Two snow white horses were in the first two stalls, the prince’s horses. Then after them were some black and spotted horses. And the final stall held a chestnut brown horse, saddle already attached to her back, that whinnied loud when she saw him.

Seungcheol smiled and pet her head, “Hello Diamond baby. Are you ready to go on an adventure?”

His Diamond whinnied again and Seungcheol kissed her neck, laughing as she shook her head, mane slapping him in the face. He smoothed her mane down and then checked the straps of her saddle.

Seokmin patted Diamond on the head too. “She just finished eating, so she should be good to go. How long will you be gone hyung?”

Seungcheol shrugged, “Should be about two weeks, maybe. I’m not sure how far away I’m going, and then I have to fight a dragon, so, I’m not sure how long I’ll be.”

Seokmin nodded, “You’ll be careful, right?”

Seungcheol grinned, “Of course, when have I ever not?”

“Hyung.”

"Okay fine, I’ve had my moments, but I will be careful.”

Seungcheol hoisted himself onto Diamond’s saddle, “I’ll see you when I get back.”

Seokmin smiled, “Good luck, hyung.”

Seungcheol leaned down and ruffled Seokmin’s hair, ignoring the boy’s whining. He led Diamond out of the stables and made his way from the castle grounds.

#

Riding through the countryside of the kingdom was one of the most boring things you could ever do, especially if you didn’t know exactly where you were going. It was fine for the first few hours, but then time started to drag. Once you were far enough out, everything began to look the same. Seungcheol had been riding four about six hours now, and he swore he had seen the same rock formation about three times. He groaned, leaning forward so his head was resting against Diamond’s neck.

“Are we there yet, sweet girl?” he asked her.

She didn’t say anything, but then again, he wasn’t really expecting her to. She was a horse after all. He sighed and let her rolling steps lull him into boredom. And maybe, if he was lucky, a nap.

#

It was to the lack of movement that Seungcheol woke up. He groaned as he sat up, patting Diamond on the neck as she whinnied. He rubbed at his eyes and yawned.

“What is it Diamond? Why’d we stop?” he asked.

She whinnied again, but this time louder. Seungcheol rolled his shoulders and finally looked up. He startled but managed to stop from shouting out loud. His breath came in short little gasps. In front of him was a tall tower, several stories high. There was a window at the top of the tower, but the shutters were closed, so he couldn’t call up to the Prince trapped inside. And he didn’t want to. Because wrapped around the base of the tower, was a large, dark green dragon. Luckily for him, the dragon seemed to be asleep, its eyes scrunched up and its chest rising and falling steadily. He knew that if he made too loud of a noise, the dragon would be awake and upon him. It was a miracle that Diamond’s whinnies hadn’t already gotten them killed.

He couldn’t just call up to the Prince inside and ask if he was okay, that would just wake the dragon. All he could see from the front of the tower was a window high in the sky. Perhaps if he looked around the back, he’d be able to find a door he could break down. If he could rescue the Prince without actually having to fight and defeat a dragon, he’d be a very lucky man indeed.

He dismounted from Diamond and drew his sword. If the dragon awoke and it came down to a fight, he didn’t want to put her in any danger. Or at least, any more than she already was just by being in the same vicinity as a dragon. He crept across the clearing, keeping a wide berth from the dragon. He let out a deep breath when he got to the back of the tower and noticed that the dragon was still asleep and wasn’t wrapped completely around the tower. And that there was a door. At the base of the back of the tour, there was a small wooden door. He smiled. Perfect.

He made his way to the door as quietly as he could, careful not to wake the dragon. He let out a soft sigh as he reached the door, the dragon still blissfully unaware of his presence. The brass doorknob was cold in his grasp and he wiggled it experimentally. It was locked. Of course it was. If it was unlocked the Prince would have been able to escape long ago. He rested his sword against the wall of the tower. He rummaged in his satchel and pulled out the lockpick set his favorite servant at the castle had given him for his birthday last year. He fiddled the pieces of metal in the lock and smiled when it opened with a satisfying click.

“Thank you, Seungkwannie,” he murmured as he placed the kit back in his satchel.

He swung the door open and picked up his sword again. Ahead of him was just stairs, spiraling upwards as far as his eye could see. He groaned. He hated stairs. They took forever and made his legs hurt. But if at the top of the stairs was a Prince in need of his help, then he would be damned if he let stairs bother him. He rolled his shoulders and began to walk up the stairs. As he got closer to the top, he sped up. He could hear footsteps above him, and his heart raced in his chest. Just a foot above him, there was a trap door in the ceiling. He gripped his sword tighter and pulled the trap door open. A small ladder extended from the trapdoor and he climbed up it. His head had only just poked through the hole when his breath caught in his throat.

“Who are you?” a voice asked.

Standing before him, was the single most beautiful creature that Seungcheol had ever seen. A boy around Seungcheol’s age stood in front of him with an odd look on his face. He had jet black hair and lightly tanned skin. His eyes shone in the light and Seungcheol wanted to hold his slim body in his arms. He shook his head free of those thoughts and pulled himself to standing, then smiled at the boy.

The boy took a step back and Seungcheol realized what the emotion on the boy’s face is. Fear. The boy raises his hands up and he sees that they are clutching a long knife. Of course the boy is scared. He has been kidnapped and imprisoned in this tower for who knows how long. He probably hasn’t seen a kind person in ages.

Seungcheol sheathed his sword and raised his hands to show the boy he means no harm. “It’s okay. I’m Seungcheol, I’m not here to hurt you.”

The boy didn’t look any less scared though. “Why are you here?”

“I came to rescue you.”

The boy frowned and put the knife down, but he could tell that he was still gripping its handle tight. “Why are you in my home?”

“Your… home?” Seungcheol asked.

It was then that Seungcheol finally looked around the room he was in. It was larger than it looked like on the outside. There was a large bed against the wall that looked ruffled with sleep, bookshelves filled to the brim and even a kitchen and dining area. It looked actually rather… comfortable. One portion of the wall was covered in a large portrait filled with twelve people, an older man and woman, and ten boys. They all had this boys’ nose. It was beautifully done and Seungcheol could tell it was painted with love. It didn’t fit the towers Seungcheol had heard of so many times before.

When Princess Yerim had been rescued by Knight Sehun, as was his final quest before becoming Prince Jeonghan’s head of guards, the stories she had told were horrible. She told of sleeping on hard floor with nothing to eat, being unable to bathe for weeks on end, of the crushing loneliness only broken up by suffocating terror. But this… this was not that. Sure, it was a little messy, but not the squalor of imprisonment. No this was the mess of comfort, the mess Seungcheol used to have in his room as a boy before his mother would beg him to clean it. It was the mess of a boy in his home.

A cat darted across his vision and Seungcheol snapped his eyes back to the boy. The little white cat wrapped its way around the boys legs, his feet bare on the wooden floor.

“You didn’t break my door, did you? Because I know for a fact that I locked it,” the boy said.

Seungcheol could feel a headache begin to pound the front of his skull. “No, I, you locked it?”

“Of course I locked it! To keep intruders out! I didn’t think I’d have to worry about it seeing as how there’s a—” the boy cut off, his eyes wide with fear, “did you hurt him?”

“Who?”

The boy ignored him, instead whirling around to the large window and throwing the shutters open and calling out, “Minghao!”

Seungcheol wanted to pull the Prince from the window, knowing that the yell was loud enough to wake the dragon below, but his feet refused to move. He stared on in horror as the large green face of a dragon filled the window. He tried to yell but then the boy… hugged the dragon’s head.

“Oh good you’re okay! I was afraid the bad man had hurt you. My sweet boy you’re okay, yes you are.” And then the Prince kissed the dragon’s head.

It was… a lot to take in. First, the dragon, his name is apparently Minghao and is a “good boy”. Secondly, the Prince thinks Seungcheol is a bad man. And thirdly, the Prince doesn’t seem to be in any danger. Seungcheol was starting to think the boy might not even be a Prince at all.

The Prince waved goodbye as the dragon disappeared from view, and then he turned to look at Seungcheol again. “So, you don’t break my door or hurt my dragon, which is good. But why are you here, what do you want from me. You said you were here to rescue me, what does that mean?”

Seungcheol ran a hand through his hair, “I came here to rescue you, honestly. My name is Seungcheol and I am a Knight here on a quest to save the Prince trapped in the tower. You.”

The boy put the knife down on a small table beside the window and crossed his arms. “I don’t need to be rescued; this is my home. I live here.”

“You are a Prince though, right?” Seungcheol asked.

The boy laughed, a high and sweet giggle that made Seungcheol want to smile with him, but he forced himself to stay calm. “Of course, I am. Prince Junhui at you service.”

He said it with a bow that showed all the grace and poise that Seungcheol saw in Jeonghan and that Sanha was still trying to achieve.

“Why are you here then? You weren’t kidnapped?” Seungcheol asked.

“Nope.”

“Were you… banished?”

Junhui cocked his head to the side. “No, why would I have been banished?”

“I don’t know I’m just trying to figure out why you’re not in the castle. It’s either you were kidnapped, banished, or you… ran away.”

Junhui sat down on his bed, body sinking into the soft mattress. “I didn’t run away if that was going to be your next question.”

The cat leapt onto the bed and laid itself in Junhui’s lap. The Prince smiled at him and pet the little cat’s head. “You really want to know why I live here?”

Seungcheol nodded. He just couldn’t imagine wanting to live out here in a tower all alone, when you could be living in a castle. And if Junhui really was a Prince, then he was leaving his throne, running from his responsibility.

Junhui patted the bed beside him and Seungcheol took a tentative step forwards. Junhui laughed again.

“Oh, come on,” Junhui said, “I don’t bite. And neither does Hui Hui. Jun Jun is a different story. But you’re lucky he’s asleep.”

Junhui had pointed his gaze towards a pillow on the floor where a turtle was apparently sleeping soundly. Seungcheol couldn’t tell the difference, if he was being honest. Seungcheol squared his shoulders and sat on the bed. It was as comfortable as it looked and being this close to Junhui sent a chill down his spine. He was even more handsome up close, and Seungcheol had to make sure he didn’t stare.

Junhui smiled, “Alright, listen up. Because I’m only telling it once.”

And Seungcheol made sure to listen.


End file.
